Mary Muthoni, a lowly computer class teacher, has used persistence to rise to the position of owning Embu County’s premier centre of excellence, St Petroc Premier School.
She has over a decade of expertise in the education field despite her poor beginnings.
In 2016, Muthoni was elected as the Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s (KNCCI) first female director since its foundation in 1965.
She represented the Central Kenyan area. Muthoni attended Ngiriambu Primary School and then Kabare Girls High School for her secondary schooling.
Muthoni holds a Bachelor of Education degree from the Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA) and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) with a major in Management and Marketing from the University of Eastern Africa Baraton.
In an interview, she confessed that while in college, she was involved in a variety of side hustles to supplement her income.
“A business I started was plaiting hair. I used to find the pocket money I am given was too little. I used to go out of my way, plait hair on the side and make Ksh100 per head, and at the end of the week I had Ksh 500,” she said.
After college, Muthoni first worked as a teacher, giving computer classes for a monthly payment of Ksh 5,000.
She worked in Embu, but every Friday she traveled to Ngara, Nairobi, to conduct a chat show and charged attendees at the entrance.
“It was something that had come to me and I felt I needed to talk to women, young people, and young couples. And they would come to listen to me
“Unfortunately, because of the distance, I also did not have a mentor, it was in 2004 and it was a whole new idea, so there was nobody to talk to me, nobody to guide me. I didn’t even have the finances, the business was not even registered. So the business died,” she said.
However, it later slipped off due to the hurdles she encountered along the journey.
Muthoni had the desire and drive to accomplish more, and it was then that she decided to go out and open her own school.
She had no source of income, and after a month, she realized she had made a bad decision.
Running the school was not an easy chore; registration, construction, and other expenses all required money, but she lacked funds.
To top it all off, she was entering into a field involving other people’s children. However, her desire for a better education spurred her determination to continue battling.
“While I was still a teacher, I had this feeling that we were getting half-baked kids, and the parents don’t understand. I felt there is a lack of character in the kids who are taken to high school
“I was feeling if this were my children, I wanted that model kid I would love to be my child. A child who has character, a child who has an attitude for excellence,” she noted.
Because of the nagging, she was inspired to establish St Petroc Premier School in Runyenjes, Embu county. It is a private institution for both girls and boys, featuring a day school and boarding facilities.
Based on recent examination results, the school is one of the region’s top performers.
